All Stars Edge Victory For First BraceBy Dyon Ravello
EACA Power 40 continued on Sunday June 17th as Victory met All Stars in search of a much needed win. Victory claimed the toss as All Star lost seven overs due to lateness. Trouble set in early as new ball partners Dhaval Patel and Yogesh Ganesh removed Victory’s top four with two wickets each. Only Bobby Sodhu (47) anchoring the innings kept the All Stars at bay. Zaman Tariq and Captain K. Deane had two scalps each as Victory closed on 134 off 40 overs.

All Stars began positively as they maintained a superior run rate. Harlene Singh removed the top three to pegged back the momentum. Sumit Ragpal and Charran Singh held on to stunning catches to help their team’s cause. But it was Patel and Ganesh who brought their bats to the party in a rearguard partnership to push All Star within sight of the finish line. Patel took as much as 12 off, spinners Jasdeep Singh with three lusty blows to the extra cover boundary. Ganesh kept it steady, while pouncing on anything loose. With the equation inching away from Victory CC, Mani returned to remove both Patel (39) and Ganesh with another 13 runs needed. All Stars lost their eighth wicket still needing 9 runs with one player absent. Sodhu did no justice for his team with the ball, as he was neither penetrative nor containing. Jasdeep conceded the winning runs as All Star felt some relief from this Father’s Day treat.

Victory who had been pressing for a place in Division A, will have to go in search of a win when they meet Hillside. Even a win may not be sufficient as they will have to hope for favorable result when Big Apple plays LIUCC. Only a Big Apple win will give Victory hope of Division A. Big Apple defeated Hillside to book their place in Division A, with Hillside and Meten-Meer-Zorg (MMZ) also advancing. All Stars face cellar fellows Arsenal in EACA Power Zone II final fixture as MMZ look to close out round seven with a positive result when they host Falcons.